The Exchange
by Ghost-Toast
Summary: When Vexen agreed to tutor those students unable to attend class he had no idea just who he was dealing with. AU FINISHED


**Finished Story**

**I do not own these characters.**

**This is mostly un-beta'd.**

**Shonen-Ai**

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><p>This year would be Vexen Van Weringh's last as a high school student, and in many areas he was severely lacking. He had no job, therefore, no car and thus no girlfriend. Up until this year he hadn't really thought these things important, so Vexen spent more time studying and reading most anything he could get his hands on. Medical research journals filled his bedside stand and a small flashlight was hidden under his mattress so he could read even after 'lights out'. So, as a result of finishing his text books within the first month of school, his grades were much better than the average student, to say the least. Though there was one grade murdering him slowly: physical education. Running a mile, doing crunches, and playing football didn't appeal to Vexen, so he simply refused to do them. But this choice of behavior was beginning to annihilate his average. The principal, obviously seeing Vexen's potential, decided to offer him a little deal: should Vexen tutor those students unable to attend class after school, his P.E. grade would be forgiven. He would still be paid for his work, just much less than the other tutors, and he was assured he'd never have to work far from home. Figuring most of his students would be those with some sort or serious injury or were simply ill, Vexen didn't see any downsides to making this deal.<p>

This is how Vexen came to stand in front of the large white house with light pink shutters, debating on if this was really better than just playing a little contact sport from time to time. The whole house looked like an enormous version of a doll house his younger sister had once kept. The house itself wasn't that intimidating, Vexen's house was nearly the same size and only a street over, but the student who resided here had quite the intimidating reputation.

Marluxia Eppling: while usually calm and charismatic, he was very capable of outbursts of rage. Vexen had yet to be at the receiving end of one of these outbursts, but had witnessed them a few times and had no desire to provoke one. Rarely had these ever ended in violence, but the most recent of them had, and that's why Marluxia was here and not in school. What had made this time any different from the others? Why, none other than a freshman named Namine. She was completely different than the usual girls the Eppling boy dated. Namine was kind, very easy to get along with, and quite the artist while the standard girls he dated were rather bitchy, well known for being easy, and had no useful talents outside the bedroom. Now, normally somewhere between a few weeks and about three months Marluxia would grow bored and dump the girl unfortunate enough to think she could break his pattern, but cute little Namine had been dating him for about five months and had somehow kept him out of her bed, so he was far from bored. Then came a first for the pinkette: She broke up with him. Apparently she felt he was keeping her on far too short a leash and he was smothering her. Marluxia clearly didn't take being cut loose well and turned to punch out the nearest boy, which landed him in out-of-school detention. But his unfortunate luck didn't end there. Namine took the victim of his rage to the infirmary and they were now rumored to be dating. Vexen imagined Marluxia was none too happy about this turn of events and didn't intend to be the next person he turned his wrath on, but some things just had to be done.

With as much courage he could muster, Vexen ascended the steps of the porch and knocked on the oversized doors. He remembered reading somewhere that large doors used to mean power in European countries as he waited for someone to let him in. After a few minutes Vexen had convinced himself no one was coming and was about to leave when the door knob began to turn. Out of a half opened door stepped a very untidy looking Marluxia. His hair was a mess, his shirt wrinkled, and his face was slightly oily; he looked nothing like he did at school. Suddenly realizing he was being glared at for just standing there Vexen extended a hand. "Hello, I'm here to help you with your school work. I'm Vexen Van Weringh."

"Bless you." His voice was thick, and he didn't bother to introduce himself. Vexen scowled at the crack at his family name. Marluxia rubbed the back of his hand against his eye lids, and it came to Vexen that the reason he seemed this way was that he had probably been sleeping.

"I thought maybe we should start with Government, but you don't look too ready to do much of anything so I'll just—" For a moment Vexen's world was a blur, and at the end of that moment he was inside the house, stumbling a bit at being swung by the arm so fast. With a light push of the shoulders he fell back onto a plush couch.

"Let me take a quick shower while you set up." Marluxia turned on his heels and Vexen observed that he was still in pajama pants. "I'll be right back, so don't run off," he called as he made his way to the second floor.

Vexen just sat in the couch that seemed to be slowly absorbing him for a short while, still a bit in shock, until the sound of water running through the pipes reminded him he had a job to do. Pulling off his canvas shoulder bag he searched for the materials he was given for Marluxia. He then set those on the glass coffee table in front of the couch next to a vine plant that was about to out-grow its pot. Looking around Vexen noted the entire place was either covered in plants or floral themed, the sunlight was more of a dusty glow than blinding beams, and the whole house breathed an air of elegance and serenity. When Marluxia descended the stair case Vexen was just looking about the living room with a somewhat content expression.

"So," Marluxia flopped into the couch in a way completely unlike the grace he was known for and practically gave Vexen a heart attack. "You said Government first, right?"

Vexen nodded and opened the text book to the last chapter they had covered in class. For a few hours they worked in relative peace, Marluxia only occasionally getting frustrated with a question he didn't understand. This peace continued until the pinkette's cell phone started to go off. At first he ignored it, but then he caught a glimpse off the I.D. "I have to take this," he warned before entering into a conversation Vexen could only hear half of, though he did occasionally hear the name 'Larxy'. When he finally hung up Vexen gave him a small smirk. "What?"

"My sister will call you to catch you up on drama, but can't text me to tell me what's for dinner? Harsh." The look on Marluxia's face was very much entertaining as it morphed from confusion to understanding to excitement.

"You're Larx's brother? I must say her description does _not_ do you justice." His tone was flirting, but Vexen hardly caught on.

"She probably tells you I look like an ogre and hide in my room all day from the sun, which is actually pretty accurate if I say so myself." Vexen chuckled as he started to pack up the materials from the subjects they were working on and took out Literature.

"You must all be crazy." He scowled at the book, Greek theater being one of his sworn enemies. "How is it I've been to your house so many times and never seen you?"

"Well, I'm an ogre, hiding in my room from the sun and cooking up unfortunate children who fall in the traps set around my house by night. The young ones are particularly tender." It occurred to Vexen his somewhat dark sense of humor probably didn't amuse the more normal of the two a little too late, but some soft laughter from the other teen eliminated this fear. "We're on act three in class, but you've been out a few days, so we'll probably have to work on act two for now."

"…Are you hungry? I should go make something."

"Nice try. I'm leaving in an hour or so to eat dinner at my house. We're working on this now."

Marluxia scowled at the taller, not liking that he was unable to worm his way out of this. As discreetly as he could, Marluxia pulled out his phone and sent a text to Larxene. Vexen knew he was doing so, but didn't know who he was sending it to or what it said and just assumed he was complaining about Vexen making him do work. When Marluxia's phone went off his grin was extraordinarily wicked. "Larxene tells me you're having Ricotta Chicken."

At first Vexen looked disgusted, but then he came to some comprehension. "I don't believe you."

"I'm hurt, Vex." He feigned hurt, but Vexen didn't look convinced. "You want to see the text?"

Vexen nodded and the electronic screen was presented to him. Sure enough, the message read _'That would be Ricotta Chicken'_. The revolted look returned and Vexen made a sickly sounding noise. Of all things on this edible earth, ricotta was the one thing he could not stand even the scent of. Then being mixed with slimy noodles made the entire meal the bane of his existence. "Does that offer for dinner still stand?"

"No doubt." Marluxia stood, smiling as he stretched his back out with his arms over his head. Watching idly Vexen noted he wasn't really as bulky-muscular as he appeared in school, but rather more of a lean-muscular.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, after all. It was only a month, and Marluxia seemed nice enough. Even though he tended to procrastinate, the work got done in the end. When it came time for Vexen to go home they exchanged numbers to plan out weekend sessions and map out the day's work. It seemed to Vexen this that working with Marluxia wasn't as big a deal as it first appeared.

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><p>Most of the next day Marluxia spent playing video games and texting Vexen, only the blonde never said anything back. He figured that Vexen just wasn't one to text in school and went on with saving princesses and winning tournaments. But then, even when he should have been on the bus Vexen didn't respond. It wouldn't be until a knock on Marluxia's door disturbed his gaming that he would hear from the green eyed blonde.<p>

"You're a liar and a manipulative jerk."

"Hello to you, too." Marluxia was fully dressed this time and looked more like his usual self, but didn't really seem offended by the insults being hurled at him.

"You just asked Larxene what food I didn't like and tricked me into thinking that's what we were having for dinner." The glare Vexen was sending his way did nothing to falter his cocky grin.

"Well, yeah." He moved to let Vexen in, but he just stood there with his arms crossed. "How else was I going to get you to stay?"

"Do the lies ever stop with you? I know you only did it to try and get out of Literature."

"If my memory serves, I did my work after we ate dinner, didn't I?" While it was partially true that he'd wanted Vexen to stay, it was also true that Marluxia was just being lazy, but his stretch of the truth seemed to work at least a bit. Vexen uncrossed his arms with a sigh and shuffled past, still not looking to happy about being swindled.

Once inside, Vexen went to set the materials back on the glass coffee table with the ever-growing spider plant, but Marluxia motioned him with a wave of the hand to follow. The shorter lead them up the stairs with an extravagant railing Vexen couldn't help but admire as they moved up the hard wood steps. At the top of the stairs there was a door to the right that Marluxia completely ignored. Across the wide hallway there was another, smaller door which he knocked on as they passed. "This is a bathroom if you need it." They passed another door on the left and one on the right behind the stair case before they came to one at the end of the hall. "And this is my room."

Vexen surprised to feel himself tensing and becoming slightly anxious as Marluxia fiddled with the seemingly jammed knob, but after a moment of mumbled curses he managed to get it un-stuck. While Marluxia walked in casually, Vexen hung back a moment, observing the large room from outside the door frame. The walls were dusted an off white like the rest of the house's interior and the floor a polished hard wood to match as well. From where he stood Vexen could see a canopy bed with the virgin white thin cloth pulled open and tied to the silver posts. The bed was made so neatly it looked like a picture out of a catalog, and it all made Vexen uncomfortable. Marluxia had disappeared from his view but shuffling proved he was still there. "…Do we have to work in here?"

"Hm? Oh, yes," Marluxia said from inside, still invisible to his guest. "Today is Wednesday, and Wednesday is the day our house-keeping guy comes over."

"You have someone clean your house for you?" In all reality Vexen was trying to avoid stepping foot in the other's room, even though he knew it was inevitable. "But wait, why does that mean we have to stay up here?"

"Lex only cleans when my parents are away. He also opens the pool in the summer and helps me move all the plants out of the house in the spring." He moved to lean on the inside of the door frame, looking out at Vexen. "And we have to stay in here because this is the one room Lex doesn't clean. Fair warning though, he will peek in at some point to make sure my room is spotless and say hello. He's a real big guy, but a gentle giant none the less."

"I see…" At the end of his rope, Vexen decided to go against his gut and take a leap. Inside the entire room looked just as sterile as the bed had. A large window complete with a window seat set up with a few fluffy pillows was the first thing he noticed, as that's where all the rooms light was coming from. The window's curtains matched that of the bed not only in color but also that they were drawn. In the opposite corner of the room from the bed was a large desk which held a laptop computer, a few note books, and stationery set in open view. In a decorated glass on the corner of the desk was a large variety of pens and pencils in assorted colors.

They chose the window seat to do work in, Vexen sitting on one pillow with another behind his back, the leg closest to the window curled in while the other dangled off the seat and kicked lightly. Marluxia laid on his stomach on two pillows with both legs bent so he could fit this way while still giving Vexen some personal space, flipping over onto his back when they got to Literature. Today Vexen decided to assign parts for them to read aloud, and Marluxia was far less resilient of the task. Not too much later than they had started to read a loud, deep voice called up the stairs to let the younger teen know he was here. Marluxia let the man, who Vexen had come to assume must have been 'Lex', know he'd heard and got up to close his door. Whenever the pinkette got into work, which Vexen was hardly necessary for, he would find himself watching the world from his second story view. From here he would begin to day dream, thinking of mostly irrelevant things, but every now and again his thoughts would drift to the other boy in the room. Why was it they hadn't spoken before now? Would they still speak after this month was up? What would Vexen do if when they returned to school Marluxia acted as if they'd never met? He would have spent forever thinking if he hadn't had the feeling he was being watched. Sure enough, green eyes met blue when he turned his gaze the way of his student. "…Are you finished?"

"No." Marluxia pushed himself up onto his elbows.

"Well…do you need my help on something?" He tried to back up some more, but he was already as close to the wall as he could physically get.

"Not really, but I suppose you could say that." Was he trying to make Vexen uncomfortable? If so he was doing a very good job of it. Vexen attempted to ignore him and look back out the window and return to the peace and depth of thought he'd formerly kept, but there was movement and that piercing gaze still coming from Marluxia. He did his best but the pink in his peripherals insisted he look over, and the instant he did he turned right back to the window. There was only a few inches between them in any given area, like a small safety cushion that Vexen was thankful for, and Marluxia appeared to be putting him under heavy examination.

Marluxia was about to say something, Vexen could see it in his face, when the click of the door opening distracted. The tall, bulky figure of Lexaus almost cautiously entered the room, looked about for any debris, and then turned his attention to Marluxia and Vexen without seeming to be taken aback at the close proximity. "Everything appears to be in order, so I'll be leaving after I finish with the guest room." The voice, despite being very low and calm, intimidated Vexen some.

"Alright, thank you for your work, Lexaus. I'll see you next week." The massive man gave a small nod and was gone from the room without leaving a trace of his ever being there. Whatever it was Marluxia had been scrutinizing earlier was apparently gone from his interests and they were able to work normally once again.

This was the way things were for the next three weeks, every Wednesday they would work in Marluxia's room, and Vexen had come to learn to stand his ground against Marluxia's stares (because if he didn't, the pinkette would just keep staring until something distracted him.). They began to finish earlier each day, then made a habit of watching some television or playing a few rounds of a video game with their remaining time. Larxene had even complained to Vexen that he was spending more time with her best friend than she was. By the fourth and final week of their forced to work together, both had an unspoken agreement that spending time with the other was actually very pleasant. On their last Wednesday together, Vexen received a text from Marluxia while on his way home. _Do you mind if we go to your house today?_ Thinking about it a moment, he decided that it really wasn't such a big deal and his parents would no doubt agree to it. _Sure, but let me pick up my room a bit._

When entering his house, Vexen had an internal checklist of things that needed to be done. His jacket was hung on the third peg from the door, his feet were effectively scuffed on the welcome mat, his shoes were placed on the small shelves on the opposite side of the door from the coat pegs, and only then was he allowed to go into the rest of the house. The list wasn't one of Vexen's design, but that of his mother's, and other than his mother he followed it most accurately. Mr. Van Weringh was a close second, sometimes leaving his shoes on the mat or hanging his jacket on the wrong peg, but Larxene purposely skipped over half of the list everyday due to some strange fascination with making mother upset.

Now that he was past the mud room, Vexen went on to the kitchen, looking for a note or list with instructions for the day. Upon seeing nothing for himself other than to bring out his laundry basket, Vexen proceeded through the dining room and into the living room to inform Mr. Van Weringh of their guest. Back in the dining room, Vexen grabbed a small vacuum out of the closet.

Meanwhile, Marluxia was turning off his gaming system and winding up the controller. He made his way to the stairs and looked around to confirm Lexaues wasn't here yet before sliding down the railing, something his parents would never condone. At the door he slipped on a pair of shoes and grabbed his favorite jacket off the coat rack and was on his way. He left the zipper undone, as the weather was starting to warm up. Marluxia jogged the short way to the Van Weringh's house, greeting Larxene as she left the house with a tall blonde with ears full of holes, and slipped in the still open door. Having been here a number of times before Marluxia knew the checklist and followed it to a T so he could continue coming over. The pinkette liked Mrs. Van Weringh, she was very pretty for her age and even sweet when her rules were followed. Marluxia never got angry when she scolded him, as he understood her condition (he had a touch of OCD himself) and that it couldn't be helped. Making his way into the dining room he spotted Vexen putting away a vacuum and made a devious plot. He snuck up quietly on his host and the instant the closet door was shut Marluxia was scooping up Vexen bridal style. The scientist in the making let out what sounded very much like a squeal, a noise Marluxia was sure to tease him about later, while Mr. Van Weringh had looked up from his novel with a howl of laughter. "I hope you don't mind me stealing your son, because I'm going to whether or not you do."

He motioned his hand in a way that said 'do as you please' as his laughter died down, but Vexen's protests didn't show any sign of doing the same. He kicked and flailed and hollered while his captor just laughed evily, and he continued to do so until Marluxia started up the steps. Vexen instantly clung tight to Marluxia, no longer yelling but cursing under his breath, as to not get dropped. Falling down a flight of stairs didn't sound very pleasant. Once at the second floor Vexen finally piped up again. "You know my room isn't up here, right?"

"What? But all the other bedrooms are up here."

"First off, since you've been here so often, are there any doors up here that you don't know where they lead?"

Marluxia gave it some thought, realizing that he had already opened pretty much every door up here, and knew what lay behind the others. He looked about for a false wall or a bookcase as if it were a trick, but the more he thought about how huge Larxene's room was, the more he realized there was no way they could cram another next to it. "If not here, then where?"

"The basement has been modified—" Marluxia was heading back down the stairs and Vexen pulled the back of his hair in protest, cursing more directly at Marluxia.

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><p>They'd just finished the last of the day's work when Vexen stood from the overly large bean bag with a groan and cracked his back. Marluxia liked the room, there was a little window which light spilled through and lit up half of the large basement, a small living room-like setup complete with entertainment center, and this big beanbag he was sitting in was extremely comfortable, though there was a problem. The room was freezing. The warm comfort the rest of the house held seemed to have no interest in touching Vexen's room. Marluxia was visibly shivering, but Vexen didn't see as he flopped back onto his bed, blue comforter flying up at the edges before settling down in a more messy fashion. The younger waddled over to the bed, rolled Vexen over so there was room to the side of him, and then crawled under the blankets.<p>

Vexen gave a small chuckle. "Cold?"

"So very cold," Marluxia's muffled voice replied. The sheets surrounding him were also cool, but not nearly as much as the rest of the room. His mattress was almost like a big pillow as opposed to the hard slab Marluxia had imagined he would sleep on. The pinkette began to settle into the feathery matteress, very relaxed but not yet falling asleep. Suddenly the soft mattress shifted, and in the next instant there was pressure Marluxia. He scrambled up to look out at what was on him only to see Vexen had rolled back over onto him, pretending to have fallen asleep. Marluxia wiggled about some in an attempt to free himself from his friend, but only succeeded in making Vexen laugh and turn his head towards him, bright green eyes unveiled. It was times like these Marluxia wished nothing more than to flip them both over and smother Vexen in kisses. What right did he have to be so attractive and smart and interesting and yet also unobtainable? His distanced personality was only the tip of the iceberg of reasons Marluxia couldn't have him: the two biggest reasons being Marluxia had only courted boys from other districts as to keep himself 'in the closet' as far as most of his own school was concerned, and so far everything he'd looked into about his little crush suggested Vexen didn't swing that way. But these things could wait a little longer, right now Marluxia simply smiled back at Vexen with a little laughter of his own and appreciating the body heat he was giving off.

"Hey," Vexen nudged the body behind himself, still grinning and looking absolutely adorable.

"Hey what?"

"Tell me a secret."

"What? No."

"I'll tell you something, too." He maneuvered himself so he was laying on his stomach.

Marluxia considered it for a moment. What harm could it do? Vexen wasn't one to gossip. "Fine, but you go first."

"Do you remember in middle school, when Larxene was flipping out about how she couldn't find her favorite CD?" The younger nodded, remembering the furry that had been Laxene on the first daythat stupid thing had gone missing. She had listened to it non-stop twenty-four seven, and no one had the guts to tell her they'd had enough. "Well, if you look under the dryer, it should still be there."

"You didn't!" Vexen just gave a evil smirk while Marluxia gaped.

"I did, and now it's your turn."

"Fuck." His language earned him a flick to the forehead. As Marluxia rubbed at his brow he thought of something he could tell Vexen that wouldn't change how he thought of him. "…Did you know you're my first guest to have ever stepped foot in my room?"

"No way that's true." Vexen scowled at him, thinking Marluxia was trying worm his way out of this.

"It's true! I've never let anyone else in there because I thought they'd pick fun at it. Everyone else, including Larxene, thinks that the guest room is my bed room" Marluxia frowned up at him. He was being sincere. Any girl he'd brought over he'd taken to the guest room, not wanting them to laugh at how clean, and slightly feminine, his room was. The guest room was more rugged and always smelt vaguely of his uncle's cologne as he visited often. The scent always made him feel slightly awkward while putting the moves on whoever it was he had over, but they never seemed to mind.

"…Then why did you let me in?" The skepticism was still there, but there was also hints of understanding and legitimate wonder in his eyes.

The reason had been that something was different with Vexen, that there were the seeds of something more than simple attraction firmly settled in Marluxia's chest. He'd felt these before, but normally they were just on the surface and were easily picked out, like with Namine. This time it seemed they were planted deep and he knew full well they were taking root, wrapping about his heart, lungs, and stomach whenever the elder was around. But these were things Vexen didn't need to hear…yet, so Marluxia simply replied: "I knew I could trust you."

That answer seemed to please Vexen, or maybe just embarrass him. He'd looked away with a faint blush frosting his cheeks, eyes partially lidded. In all reality he felt extremely dense. It was mostly because he was flirting with Marluxia, who not only seemed to take no notice, but was also notorious for being a Casanova of sorts. Though right after that came the reasoning that he'd never been attracted to men before, and that this was either just a phase or his hormones were tricked by Marluxia's shoulder length pink hair, soft features, and deep eyes. Then he remembered his long standing friendship with Zexion, who also had very effeminate features. This canceled out the idea that his body was just confused, but it also stood to say that if he was really gay he probably would have been attracted to Zexion at some point. But he hadn't. Was this really just a phase for Vexen? Then again, he'd heard a story several months of a girl who wasn't a lesbian, but found herself falling for a female friend of hers. She had found even the thought of a naked woman repulsive and awkward, but was attracted to her friend regardless. 'I don't like girls. I like _a_ girl.' Could that be what was going on with Vexen? He sighed, thinking that it didn't matter how he felt, because there was no way Marluxia felt the same way.

They lay there in silence for a long time, neither noticing as both were lost in thought. At some point they'd fallen asleep, Vexen first due to an exhausting day at school, but Marluxia soon after, the rising body heat of his friend lulling him into a light slumber. Larxene had stomped down stairs during their nap, hell bent on finding a movie she'd wanted to watch with Luxord, but decided on seeing them she'd select another movie and bitch at Vexen later. It wasn't until Mrs. Van Weringh called them up for dinner that Vexen awoke. Marluxia, still in his cocoon of warmth, didn't stir. The elder tried waking him with small nudges, but Marluxia just mumbled in his sleep and curled himself more into the blankets. Vexen wasn't much of a morning person. He didn't really speak or even think for a while after he'd woken up, he just did. So this is how he would later justify pressing his lips to Marluxia's slightly damp bangs before crawling off the bed to stretch. Marluxia wiped at his eyes and arched his back with a big yawn. Then, in an instant of realization, he sat up on his elbows. "…Did you just..?"

"Up."

"What?"

"_Up."_ Vexen emphasized this by roughly pulling off all the blankets he could grasp in one foul swoop.

"Alright, Alright!" The pinkette put up his hands in mock surrender and slid off the bed. He took the blankets from Vexen's grasp and tossed them back on the bed, and when he turned back he took in the look of the blonde's eyes. They were dull, but cognitive thought could be seen making a slow but sure comeback. This time it was Marluxia to stand on his tip-toes and pressed a light kiss to Vexen's very warm forehead, a silent way of telling him he knew exactly what he'd done.

* * *

><p>The last day they had together wasn't really what either had expected. There was no big emotional goodbye, no last minute confessions, and no promise to keep in touch or see each other again. This was probably because not only did each expect the other to do something, but both realized they'd see each other on Monday. Which they did, but they didn't speak. In lunch Marluxia had attempted to break free from his usual table to sit with Vexen and Zexion, but was held firmly in place by an ex on his arm, digging her claws in as she attempted to draw him back. They would pass in the hall but both would be too busy to notice until the other had passed. The whole week had been like that for them. Marluxia was more than irritable come Thursday. He wanted to stop being attracted to one of the few people he couldn't have, and he wanted to sleep in, and he wanted to stop seeing that annoyingly feminine looking blonde following Namine like a lost puppy. So that night he decided it was time for a change.<p>

Vexen had Current Topics in Science first period, a class that had failed to meet any of his expectations and he frankly thought was a waste of time, but he wasn't one to drop a class for any reason. He'd shown up early, as per usual, and was re-reading a book he'd grabbed off his shelf this morning. In all actuality the blonde was more or less staring at the page wishing it was something more interesting. He heard the door shut and footsteps, but didn't bother to look up until he noticed the steps were coming toward him and Zexion had stopped asking about questions from last nights' homework he was doing last minute. When Vexen did look up, however, he didn't recognize the person staring him down. The face looked familiar, and those eyes, but….

The chair he'd been sitting in squealed with movement as Vexen nearly jumped out of his seat. It was no doubt Marluxia. No one else had that combination of eye and hair color, but he'd practically cut it all off. No longer did the longest piece rest at the top of his back, but instead only an inch or two under his ear. It was a very shaggy looking cut, and seemed puffier now that it wasn't being weighed down. After a long stare down, Marluxia rested his palms on the blonde's desk, grinning widely. "Well, hello there handsome."

"Your hair…you cut it all off…"He reached up and fingered a piece in front of Marluxia's ear, when he noticed that his hair wasn't the only thing to change. "Your ears!"

The pinkette twisted the deep blue stud currently stuck through his ear. "I tried to donate my hair, but no one would believe it wasn't dyed. These I did after. They're still pretty tender." He'd only been in the building for fifteen minutes at most, and already he'd had people giving him strange looks as he scoured the halls. Someone had even stopped him only to stare dumbly until Marluxia shook them off. He liked his hair short. It was strangely freeing to not have the wispy strands touching his neck all the time. "I'm coming over this week to hang out," He told rather than asked the elder. "When am I coming over?"

Zexion's eyebrow twitched visibly in frustration at not only being cut out of the conversation, but also at Marluxia's rudeness. "You can't just invite yourself over to someone else's house."

"Oh? I can't? Because I'm fairly certain I just did."

"Well, I'm fairly certain you look like a—"

Vexen smacked Zexion in the stomach to cut him off, giving a wide eyed shake of the head when the ash haired teen opened his mouth to snap again. Having intentionally separated himself from most of the school's population, Zexion was very unfamiliar with who was who. He knew that Marluxia had quite the reputation for losing his temper and to avoid triggering that, but hadn't a clue just who Marluxia was. He was poking in the lion's den, but thought the lion was a rabbit. The blond cleared his throat cautiously. "A bunch of us play video games together on Thursdays in my basement. You should come."

"I intend to." Marluxia gave a smile full of false innocence, making Vexen wonder if he really meant that to sound as sexual as it did. The pinkette pushed off of the desk and turned to leave, waving behind himself. "Text me the details later."

Vexen waved back despite knowing he couldn't be seen. From the back Marluxia didn't even look like the same person, but that wasn't such a bad thing. His shoulders looked much more defined now that the pink locks weren't draped all over them, and he almost seemed approachable, though those brilliant blue eyes still kept people at bay. The blond sort of looked forward to texting him later, as they hadn't spoke (not even on the phone) since he'd gotten out of OSS.

Still miffed about being reprimanded when Marluxia had been rude first, Zexion snapped his attention to a dreamy looking Vexen. "What the hell? You're just letting him come over? That's _our_ night!"

"You act as if it's only us at game night," Vexen said calmly as he returned his book and pulled out his binder for current topics. "You never complained when we added Saix or Luxord."

"That's different!"

"Do I detect a hint of jealousy, Zexion?" The grey haired teen opened his mouth to retort, but instead gave a loud huff and flopped into his seat.

* * *

><p>Vexen and Larxene were never very domestic. Their mother was always so finicky about how things were done that they never had a chance to learn from her or their father. Larxene could sew, but her stitches were overly large and messy, and Vexen could use the hot air popper. He preferred the taste of pop corn from the hot air popper, it tasted fresh and because he added butter and salt himself it wasn't practically dripping. He sat at a bar stool next to the counter separating dining room from kitchen, leaning so his face was against the cool, smooth surface. Vexen switched his attention from the hot puffs of corn shooting out the spout and into a colored bowl to the egg timer, not that he was allowed to open the oven once it went off, but it was a distraction. On one side of him sat Zexion, who looked extra sulky with his arms crossed and his eyes diverted, and on the other he had Marluxia who was now lightly tipping the egg timer in every which direction.<p>

"Stop that." Zexion whipped his head toward Marluxia, scowling.

"What for? It's not like I'm bothering anyone." His voice was even as always.

"It's not yours, so stop touching it." Learning who Marluxia was didn't seem to mute his hostility toward the teen a tad.

"So it's safe to assume you own that chair you're sitting in, then." The egg timer went off.

"Mom! The stuff in the oven is done!" Vexen sat up at just the right angle to effectively block his guests from each other's view. His mother was sprinting as gracefully and quick as her small feet would allow her, grabbing strategically placed oven mitts and slipping them on with practiced ease. In no time the tray of assorted snack foods were being adjusted to sit perfectly on the pristine stove top. As Zexion and Marluxia had been over several times, though this was their first time being here for the same person, watching Mrs. Van Weringh's peculiar habits only kept their attention for a short while and they were soon at each other's necks once again. Once the last little puff had found its way out the popper Vexen unplugged the machine and placed the parts that needed washing in the sink, the bulk of it going back on top of the cupboards in its respective Tupperware box. He quickly mixed in the butter and salt, opting to ignore his bickering guests. The blond helped his mother put the freshly made snacks into other colored bowls before shooing her out of the kitchen, insisting he'd wipe down the counters. Finally, Vexen turned back to Marluxia and Zexion. He picked up the bowl of popcorn and harshly placed it between them with an irritated smile. "If you two wouldn't _mind_ taking these down while I clean up here, that'd be fantastic."

The stairs to the basement were attached to the kitchen, so while Vexen wasn't entirely rid of their bickering, he had some piece of mind. But cleaning the counters only took so long, even by his mother's standards. Surprisingly, when Vexen made his way down the stairs he didn't hear them fighting anymore. Cautiously he rounded the small corner at the bottom of the steps. Xaldin and Luxord were lounging on the couch as usual (it had originally been in his living room, but they insisted it stayed and even carried it down here), Saїx had placed himself at the end of Vexen's bed, and the two in question had taken over the large beanbags. They were ferociously attacking the multicolored buttons of Vexen's worn controllers, living vicariously through the virtual fighters beating the living day-lights out of one another.

_At least they're quiet_, Vexen thought as he made his way to them. He flopped backwards onto Marluxia's beanbag, earning him a glare from Zexion and a grin from Marluxia. Earlier today Vexen had asked the pinkette to come a half hour earlier, hoping they could spend some time alone so he could sort out his feelings, but when he went to answer the door he found Marluxia holding Zexion up by his collar. The ash haired boy was still spitting out insults, not seaming to notice that he was a good two feet off the ground, but Marluxia was dead silent. From what he knew about Marluxia, that wasn't good for anyone. Vexen had managed to separate them and had to send Marluxia up to Larxene's room and was forced to watch Zexion, who was now shaking with a mix of anger and fear. They didn't say anything for a long while, and forty minutes later Luxord and Xaldin showed up, the taller immediately retreated to the basement while the blond went up to say hello to Larxene. He returned with Marluxia in tow, and that's how they found themselves together in the kitchen.

"Ha! Beat you again!" Zexion looked like a spoiled child proving his nanny wrong.

"It's easy to win a fight when you have someone else fighting for you." Marluxia returned with a snarl.

The next time the youngest of their group opened his mouth Vexen stuffed it with a handful of popcorn. The ash haired boy nearly fell out his seat trying to squirm away from the food, but ultimately failed. He chewed for a while glaring at the blond while the other guests chuckled. The night went much like it usually did, Luxord left half way through to hang out with Larxene, Xaldin took over the rest of the couch and snacked most the evening, occasionally taking a turn against whoever won the last match, and Saix raged whenever he lost. The only difference was Vexen's role as peace keeper. It was mostly Zexion that made him step into the role, he was extra feisty around Marluxia, it seemed, though Marluxia did his fair share of instigating. In the end Vexen didn't really get to have much fun and took to joining Xaldin when he wasn't separating his friends.

Then, when he wasn't looking, Marluxia shot a particularly nasty comment Zexion's way. It was all hushed, but that didn't dull it any. There was a soft noise as the controller the ash haired teen dropped his controller into the bean bag and stomped off. Vexen gave Marluxia a bop on the head after he stormed after Zexion, finding him out on the back porch overlooking the covered pool. "Zexion…" He huffed. "I'll talk to Marluxia about being so nasty, but I can't make him stop if you—"

"You think you two are _so_ close, don't you?" Zexion snapped, still facing away from Vexen.

"Well, we did spend a month straight together." Vexen's tone was fairly even, but Zexion's had suggested he knew something the other didn't.

"It isn't like that for him, though." There was a sing-song Vexen was unused to in Zexion's voice, and he knew something was off. Never before had the ash haired boy used that tone. Nothing good could come from it.

"Stop being so bitter, Zex."

"Oh, I'm not being bitter, I'm being honest. Something that prick wouldn't know the first thing about." He turned, malicious grin on his features. "Don't you want to know what got him so…riled up earlier?" Vexen's silence was enough of a yes for him. "I was grilling him about his sudden interest in you. Marluxia seemed pretty touchy when I suggested telling you the only reason he's sticking around is that he's trying to nail you."

"You…" Vexen was in shock. His fists shook and his stomach dropped. In his stupor Vexen overlooked the fact that Zexion had a nasty habit of twisting the facts and leaving out essential details. But the shock then turned to anger, finally turning to sadness. Had all he thought he felt been nothing but smoke in mirrors manipulated by none other than Marluxia? What about that last time he'd had Marluxia over? Vexen had felt so safe just lying there with him, and when eating together he couldn't help feeling that was how it was meant to be. He felt so free with Marluxia, like he wasn't under the strain of keeping everything perfect for Mom or living up to Dad's expectations. Was he really just being used? Vexen wanted to yell, to scream and tell Zexion he was wrong, that Marluxia wasn't like that…but he couldn't. There was nothing about Marluxia that prove a powerful enough statement against Zexion's words. Sure, he was kind enough to Vexen, but if what Zexion had said was true wasn't that all a farce? Vexen's fingers wound in his loosely styled hair and his eyes clamped shut as he took several calming breaths. "…You might be right…"

The reaction Zexion had expected from his older friend was one of disgust, a quick decision to remove the pink haired teen from their group, not this pained expression and heavy silence. He almost regretted saying what he did when it appeared that Vexen's green eyes were growing glossy, almost. But then he'd said just what Zexion needed to hear to go through with this. His grin only grew in wickedness as slander poured from his lips, filling Vexen's thoughts.

* * *

><p>Marluxia had taken to tossing his cell phone up into the air in half hearted attempts to land it atop the canopy of his bed, only to have it fall into the pillows he'd set down for protection. It had been three days since he'd spoken with Vexen, but not for lack of trying. Before, even though they didn't speak at school, the older would always text back; but now he didn't even do that. He hadn't even come to school Friday. Initially Marluxia thought maybe he was sick, but then when he tried to speak to Larxene she ignored him completely and moved away when she could. All of it was strange, and extremely irritating. As he rolled over in his desk chair to where the device had landed, the pinkette thought it fitting that he pay a visit to the Van Weringh house.<p>

And he did. Only he didn't make it past the front door. Marluxia had knocked, heard Larxene's string of curses as she made her way to the door, and managed a bright smile and a "Hi" before the door was slammed in his face. For several minutes he just stood there, thinking it was some sort of joke. Never, in the entire time he'd known Larxene, had she ever refused to let him in. Not even when she was mad at him. After a while though, it became clear this was no prank. "Hey." He knocked on the door again. "Hey!" This time he raised his voice, with it he pounded harder on the door. "What the hell was that about? Larxene! Larxene get back here!"

And she did. But she wasn't any happier to see him. In fact, she shoved him the instant the door was open again. "Where the hell do you get off, toying with my family like that?" She screeched, and she shoved him again and again until he fell off the front steps and onto the walkway. "When the fuck did I give you the idea that it's okay to use them? Because it's not!" Marluxia moved to speak to defend himself, but Larxene cut him off. "Oh, no no no! You are _not_ talking your way out of this! You can take whatever bullshit excuse you have for jerking my brother around and shove it! If you so much as text him again, I swear I'll gut you alive. That's a _promise_." She spun around and re-entered the house, slamming the door again. He wanted to know what she was talking about, but knew staying here meant certain death. Cautiously, Marluxia stood from the ground and began down the walk way when something hit the back of his head. Looking down, he noticed it was a notebook he must have forgot at the Van Weringh house. "By the way, your hair looks stupid short!" Larxene called from the doorway, in the background Marluxia could see a tall figure enter the kitchen clad only in jeans, a fluffy white towel covering his head. It was safe to assume this was Vexen, as long blond strands hung out from underneath the towel, and Marluxia could feel his heart tighten. "But at least you don't look like a tranny anymore."

"I never looked like a tranny…" Mumbled to himself begrudgingly, the door already shut again, as he picked up the notebook. "I looked like the guys on the cover of romance novels…" Marluxia would not stay out here and sulk like a lesser man, he would head back home and figure out what was happening and how to fix it. And maybe sulk a little in private.

* * *

><p>It had taken almost a week, but from what he gathered with his conversation with Larxene the other day (well, she would text something to Namine, who would then send the message onto Marluxia. The whole process was rather irritating.), Zexion could be tracked down as the root cause of this chaos. Unsurprising, really; a conclusion Marluxia should have come to on his own days ago. But he hadn't, and he had gotten the information just in time.<p>

This is why the Eppling boy is currently hiding in a set of very unruly looking bushes at the moment, very uncomfortable and very unhappy. At least he didn't have to worry about twigs sticking in his hair now that it was so short. Bonus.

It was Thursday, which Marluxia had been around long enough to know was video game day at the Van Weringh household, and those bushes were outside an older house on Vexen's street that was just for show. It was almost as old as the town itself, and wasn't taken care of nearly as frequently as it should have. Though thanks to its poor maintenance Marluxia had cover from the ash haired teen who was walking down to him, book in hand and mind somewhere in the pages. This was also convenient, as Zexion didn't react in time when he heard rustling next to him. In a flash Marluxia darted out at Zexion, ramming into him and forcing him to the grass.

"Get off! If Vexen found out you were trying to hurt me he'd—"

"He'd what? Ignore me? Cut me off completely? Huh, it's funny you mention that. He is already doing those things. Do you think maybe he can see into the future? I wouldn't want to disappoint him." Marluxia raised a fist, and while he had no real intention of punching the younger, it was enough to threaten him.

"You'd better not! You'd better fucking not!" Zexion screeched, flailing around in an attempt to break free from Marluxia's grasp. He had to give him credit for being stronger than anticipated.

"There's nothing stopping me now, you know, and it's all because someone spread nasty little lies about me." He crashed his fist into the grass beside Zexion's head. The ash haired teen froze, clenching his jaw and eyes shut in anticipation of the blow that never came. Slowly he relaxed, cracking open one eye to look up at his captor only to be thoroughly disgusted. Zexion didn't have any older siblings, or siblings at all; his father had insisted on having a single child for academic reasons. If he looked around his father's night stand drawers he could still find statistics on higher IQ's being tied to being a single child, as it seemed the Greely's still argued about having more children. Though this lack of siblings had left Zexion unfamiliar with tactics like the spit dangle, which would have been useful for this situation.

"What is that? No, no no no! Come on, Eppling, you've had your fun!" His wiggling about had resumed, but much less violently for fear of jarring the string of saliva loose from Marluxia's lips and onto himself. The pinkette intense stare bore into his skull, leaving Zexion both disgusted and frightened. "What do you gain from this?"

"Fix it," He muttered around his spit, eyes unblinking. This had been a tactic his ever childish uncle had taught him after he'd hid the remote. It was a victory for the captor either way; either he got what he wanted or he got to see someone he didn't like covered in saliva.

It was inching closer to Zexion's face by the second, he turned his head to give himself more time and avoid getting it in his mouth. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Vexen." Marluxia snarled as best he could. "Fix it."

He hesitated; Zexion hadn't really taken any measures to avoid the truth figuring that Larxene and Vexen's silent treatment would do the trick, so he wasn't too surprised Marluxia had figured out the reason behind it. "I can't…" he mumbled in hopes it would discourage the pinkette, but instead he inched closer, his expression unchanging. "All right! Okay, I'll try to fix this just please get _that_ away from me!"

With a victorious grin he whipped his head to the side, flinging his 'weapon' off into the bushes he'd just been hiding in. "You've made a wise choice," the older stood, offering a hand to Zexion who only slapped it away to struggle up on his own. "Though I suggest you do more than try. You'd best succeed, Greely, or I'll make sure you're miserable for a very, _very_ long time."

Ignoring the irony that if was successful he'd still be miserable because of Marluxia, Zexion brushed himself off and began marching off to Vexen's home again. Behind him the Eppling boy was off to his own house, but someone was already there waiting to pay him an unexpected visit.

* * *

><p>Vexen's long fingers wound in lengthy strands, blankly staring at the concrete floor of his basement, letting everything he'd been told seep in. He'd already called the other's telling them not to come over today. At first he'd only felt numb, but he'd begun to feel ill, guilt piercing his stomach despite the fact that he really wasn't to blame. Then again, Zexion had lied to him before, so he figured he should have been more cautious. "You're an dick head, you know that?"<p>

"If it's any consolation, I did actually believe he was probably just using you," the younger picked at his nails, a bad habit he'd yet to break himself of. He never liked admitting he was wrong, who did? Though he could just tell Vexen looked terrible, and so he avoided looking at what he'd caused. "I still do. I just don't have any solid proof."

The blonde stood, and Zexion ceased to move, expecting for the second time today to get hit. "Leave my house. Right now. Go home, Zexion." He did as he was told as quickly and orderly as possible. As soon as Vexen heard the door at the top of the stairs leading to his room click closed he took his anger out on the bean bag Zexion had been in, punting it across the room. He yelled for a short while, nothing coherent, just mindless howls of rage. He wasn't sure how to handle this situation so he just did what he wanted, hoping he would feel better. Almost as quickly as the bout of fury had come it was gone, and Vexen flopped back onto his bed. His eyes were not quite staring at the wooden planks that made up his ceiling as he thought about the logical way to approach fixing what had gone wrong here. He rolled over and grabbed a hair tie from his night stand and a light jacket from the floor, thinking that he owed Marluxia an apology at the least.

The blond shrugged on the jacket without bothering to zip it, calling out to his mother that he was going for a walk as he slipped on a random pair of sneakers. On his way to the Eppling house he pulled his hair back into a messy bun, figuring he might as well look somewhat presentable when he showed up to kiss ass for forgiveness. When the large white house was in view Vexen noticed that there were two cars in the driveway, one he knew was Marluxia's as it had been there when he'd been tutoring him, but the other was a car the Van Weringh teen hadn't seen before. It was some slick black sports car without a single scratch on it, looking as if it had just come off the lot. As he got closer the door to the house slammed open, a tall brunette man in a pressed suit exiting first but was shortly followed by Marluxia, both hollering at one another. It was dark enough out that Vexen was mostly hidden in shadow, but he wasn't any more than twenty feet from the reach of their porch light and he could hear them both clear as day. The man in the suit grabbed Marluxia up by the front of his loose t-shirt, shaking him back and forth and screaming louder now than ever before. Vexen wanted to run up there and help, but could tell from here he was no match for the man he'd come to assume was Mr. Eppling.

Finally he let Marluxia go, tossing him back some before stomping off into his car and slamming the door. If they hadn't got people's attention with their screaming, there would be no heads left unturned at the loud screech of the car as it peeled out of the drive way. Even Vexen turned to watch it speed off, surprised at how it'd gotten up to speed so quickly. Though he soon turned back to the porch where Marluxia was now sitting on his steps, head in his hands. Vexen jogged up to him, unsure if he wanted the pinkette to know he'd witnessed what had gone down just now. There was no way Marluxia didn't hear his footsteps, but he didn't move. The unsure feeling Vexen had back in his own room returned with a vengeance at the sight before him. Was he crying? What if he was really pissed off and didn't want to deal with Vexen right now? There was only one way to really find out.

"…Hey," he ventured cautiously, getting no more than a grunt in return. Not sure if this was an invitation to keep going, he paused a moment before continuing. "Listen, I just…I though you—"

"Shut up." He did. There was something in the younger's tone he didn't recognize, and he feared it was hurt. "Sit down. Just don't say anything, please."

Vexen placed himself a good two feet from Marluxia, and they just sat together for a while, not looking at or speaking to each other. After about ten minutes the pinkette extended the hand closest to his elder palm up, and Vexen didn't hesitate to hold it in his own, lacing their fingers together in the most comforting way. He was shaking; Vexen could feel it now. It was more likely he was shaking in anger rather than in sadness, as he showed no other signs of sorrow. Five minutes or so latter Marluxia had begun inching his way over to Vexen, and not long after that he rested his head on the blonds' shoulder, eyes closed as he took in deep breaths in through his nose and out his mouth. Figuring he was finally calm enough, Vexen pressed his cheek to soft pink hair, using his free hand to stroke Marluxia's hair. He had to deal with Saix and Zexion when they got like this sometimes, and so he had an idea as to what to do here.

As he pet the short pink hair, his hand brushed against an ear, leaving something wet behind. Vexen examined his hand, shocked to see it was blood. He shifted toward Marluxia get a better look, the younger burying himself further into his shoulder. Where the earrings had once been, there was only blood. Not a lot, but enough to concern just about anyone. "Mar, let's go in. We should disinfect these and get the posts back in before they heal up."

Marluxia wrapped both arms around the blonds' slender back and pressed his forehead to the pale neck beside him. "Why? He'll just rip them out again next time he's in town."

With a scowl, Vexen returned the embrace lightly. He didn't like that Mr. Eppling was behind this minor injury, but had almost expected as much and there wasn't even much he could actually do about it other than take care of Marluxia now. "At least let me disinfect them, then." Instead of responding the younger just gripped him tighter, pushing himself more into the cool fabric Vexen's shirt. With a sigh he wrapped his long arms around Marluxia's shoulders, giving them gentle squeeze and lingered for a few seconds. Vexen then moved to hold the younger's chin pushing up lightly in an attempt to see his face, but he wouldn't move. "Look at me, Mar, please?" When he finally complied, the blond couldn't help but grin and chuckle at the look he was being given, which only made Marluxia squint his eyes more. His entire face read 'what the hell do you want?', clearly upset he'd been made to move from his comfortable position. Chuckles died down, and Vexen took to rubbing his thumbs against Marluxia's cheekbones, expression softening. There was no hesitation, no big build up of tension, or even a rush of passion; just a simple kiss, like they'd been doing it forever.

That night they would speak of Mr. Eppling, who Vexen determined as the source of Marluxia's short temper. He had come home for a short visit and was initially impressed by his son's choice in cutting his hair, but lost it when he saw the earrings. Deciding not to push his luck while he still lived under his parent's roof, they didn't re pierce his ears. Or at least wait for Mrs. Eppling to tear into the issue. They talked about what they wanted to go to college for, about what was going on at school, and all the other, ordinary things teenage boys talk to each other about. It wasn't an extraordinary beginning to a relationship, but it was a start none the less.

Tomorrow they would face the world, but today they could just be teenagers together.

* * *

><p><strong>The ending feels...wrong. <strong>**I feel like it should be different somehow, and that the whole thing seems very rushed. ****I know this is a strange sentiment, seeing as it's 10+k, but it seems to me it could have been better.**

**Well, enough of my own review of my work. Please leave me a review of what you think!**


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